Operations Enablement Manager

Operations Enablement Manager

The Operations Enablement Manager provides strategic leadership for internal communications, employee engagement, and change enablement across the Canada Insurance Operations (IO) organization. This role is accountable for ensuring consistent, clear, and impactful messaging that strengthens leadership visibility and delivers cohesive and aligned employee experience.

The role owns the end-to-end engagement and communications strategy, including planning and execution of town halls, leadership cascades, and enterprise engagement initiatives. It ensures that all communications and engagement activities are aligned to business priorities, KPIs, and transformation initiatives, enabling effective understanding, adoption, and execution across the organization.

Position Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Leadership & Direction

• Define and lead the Operations Enablement strategy, integrating internal communications, engagement, and change enablement across Canada IO

• Translate business priorities, transformation initiatives, and KPIs into clear engagement and communication frameworks

• Ensure alignment between organizational goals and employee experience through structured messaging and engagement approaches

• Identify opportunities to improve organizational effectiveness, engagement, and adoption of change initiatives

2. Communications & Engagement Ownership

• Own and oversee the internal communications and engagement strategy and roadmap

• Ensure consistent, aligned messaging across leadership levels, teams, and communication channels

• Provide direction on storytelling, messaging tone, and narrative development to support business priorities

• Drive a structured approach to leadership visibility, employee engagement, and feedback mechanisms

3. Leadership Partnership & Stakeholder Management

• Serve as a strategic partner to senior leaders and Directors, enabling effective communication and engagement with their teams

• Guide leaders in crafting and delivering key messages, cascades, and engagement plans

• Align stakeholders across functions to ensure consistent execution of communications and transformation initiatives

• Influence and support leaders in driving employee understanding, alignment, and adoption

4. Transformation & Change Enablement

• Lead the integration of change management principles into communications and engagement strategies

• Ensure all transformation initiatives are supported with structured communication, engagement, and adoption plans

• Oversee change impact awareness and ensure clear, timely, and proactive communication of changes

• Monitor and support organizational readiness and adoption outcomes

5. Governance, Planning & Execution Oversight

• Establish governance frameworks for communications, engagement activities, and operational cadence

• Oversee planning and execution of:

  • Town halls

  • Leadership cascades

  • Key organizational forums and engagement initiatives

• Ensure strong execution discipline, prioritization, and alignment across all activities

• Maintain visibility over deliverables, timelines, and dependencies across the team

6. Insights, Measurement & Continuous Improvement

• Define and track KPIs and success measures for engagement, communications effectiveness, and change adoption

• Leverage insights from:

  • Employee surveys (e.g., Gallup)

  • Town hall feedback

  • Engagement metrics

• Translate insights into actionable recommendations for leadership

• Drive continuous improvement of communication strategies, engagement approaches, and employee experience

7. Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead and develop a team of Specialists across:

  • Internal Communications & Engagement

  • Enablement, Coordination & Insights

• Provide clear direction, prioritization, and performance management

• Build team capability in communications, analytics, and enablement practices

• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement

8. Enablement & Operational Excellence

• Ensure the team provides strong execution support, coordination, and follow-through for leadership priorities

• Drive standardization of:

  • Communication processes

  • Engagement planning

  • Reporting and tracking mechanisms

• Enhance efficiency by leveraging tools, frameworks, and structured workflows

• Enable leaders to focus on strategy and decision-making rather than operational details

We are looking for someone with: 

Education and Professional Background

• Bachelor’s degree in business management/administration, Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Journalism or a related field.

• Relevant qualifications and accreditation in Change Management, Communications, or Project/Program Management are an advantage.

Work Experience

• 5-7 years of progressive experience in Internal/External communications, Employee Engagement, and Change Management

• Proven ability to support change management activities, generate insights to drive employee experience., business readiness, and successful organizational transformation.

• Demonstrated experience leading communications strategies aligned to business priorities and transformation initiatives.

• Knowledgeable of various internal communications technology to boost reach, engagement and effectiveness.

• Experience in BPO, Shared Services and large, matrixed organizations preferred.

• Proven ability to execute enterprise-wide communication strategies, deliver high-impact leadership messaging through townhalls, cascades and executive briefs and translate complex topics into clear and compelling narratives.

• Strong storytelling capability with an ability to source, craft and amplify employee and leadership stories.

• Strong strategic thinking and content planning skills with the ability to align communications to business goals, KPIs and transformation initiatives.

• Demonstrated ability to influence and partner with senior leaders, operate effectively in a matrixed environment and experience leading or mentoring a team.

• Proficiency in internal communications platforms and digital tools and strong project management skills, with ability to manage multiple initiatives end-to-end.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience producing multimedia content (campaigns, visual storytelling), creative instincts in campaign design and employee engagement initiatives

• Experience working in rapidly growing and transformation heavy global or multinational environments, connecting with stakeholders from different geographies.

• Exceptional executive presence, facilitation and presentation skills.

• Understanding employee engagement drivers and culture and change dynamics.

• Strategic thinking and content planning.

• Willingness to work across different time zones as required and highly developed project and time management skills.

When you join our team:

• We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.

• We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words.

• As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html.

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact [email protected].